Developers get gift-wrapped, weaker DERM in Miami-Dade budget shuffle

On the surface, it looks like Miami-Dade is just giving its environmental watchdog agency its independence back. But the devil is in the details.
Buried in the county’s $12.9 billion budget vote this Thursday is a last-minute “restructuring” that environmentalists say will actually weaken the Division of Environmental Resources Management — better known as DERM — and hand developers a major win.
Sure, DERM will once again be its own department, instead of a subdivision of the regulatory mega-bureaucracy created a decade ago. Sounds good, right? But here’s the trick: permitting power over wetlands, mangroves, pine rocklands, seagrass beds — the actual teeth of the watchdog — would stay with the department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, better known as RER.
Does that mean that the same folks who sign off on building towers, shopping plazas and seawalls would also be deciding how much Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and your neighborhood tree canopy get protected? Not necessarily, says the mayor’s team and proponents. They call this needed reform that was announced in June and that the mayor is “elevating” DERM to do be better, more efficient and handle more actual environmental issues.
DERM still writes the rules and handles appeals for final review, so they are very much a part of the process. Proponents of the shift say opponents have misunderstood the change and that elevating DERM by making it a standalone department will increase its capacity to take on other big environmental issues, like all the development activity at the Urban Development Boundary and the ongoing discussions about where to build a new garbage incinerator.
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But environmental groups — including Tropical Audubon, Miami Waterkeeper and Friends of the Everglades — say that move could “cripple” the county’s ability to defend its natural resources. They say that without permitting authority, DERM becomes little more than a glorified consultant, writing reports that the builders can file away while they pour more concrete.
They also say that this will not undo the damage caused more than a decade ago by then-Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Now a Republican congressman, Gimenez complained DERM gave him “administrative heartburn” because it slowed down construction. He pushed through a reorganization to streamline development approvals, and DERM’s staff shrank by half while Miami-Dade’s population exploded.
Developers loved it. The environment? Not so much.
Even with fewer people, DERM still managed to enforce some big rules, like forcing FPL to clean up the cooling canals at Turkey Point in 2014. But lately, its resilience team — the one charged with preparing three million residents for flooding, heat waves and sea rise — is down to just 10 positions. Ten.
Now, with this budget move, what’s left of DERM’s bite might get filed down to baby teeth.
Seven environmental groups sent an urgent letter to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava asking her to stop the power grab, warning that “efforts to weaken DERM’s permitting authority have surfaced time and again, attempting to make way for improper development at the expense of critical resources and natural infrastructure.” They asked for an urgent meeting before the final budget vote.
“You have been a trusted champion for our environment, and a steadfast believer in the critical role of the Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM) in protecting both our community and our natural resources,” reads the letter, which was signed by Lauren Jonaitis, senior conservation director at the Tropical Audubon Society, Rachel Silverstein, chief executive officer at Miami Waterkeeper, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, Laura Reynolds, science director at Hold The Line Coalition, Elizabeth Fata Carpenter, executive director of the Everglades Law Center, Dave Doubler, co chair of the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Coalition and Bruce Mathson, president of Friends of Biscayne Bay.
Because this is, indeed, a little off-brand for the “Water Warrior” mayor.
“While we welcome the decision to restore DERM as a standalone department, removing its environmental permitting authority and other key functions, such as stormwater management, would severely weaken Miami-Dade County’s ability to safeguard its residents, protect natural resources, and achieve its long-term environmental and resilience goals,” the letter stated.
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“Our concerns are amplified by DERM’s history of diminishing authority, a gradual dissolution of what was once the premier environmental regulatory department in the county. A robust DERM requires leaders who are empowered to leverage and invest in their team, capacity, and decision-making expertise. But this decision does the opposite. Removing permitting authority would represent the final unraveling of DERM’s regulatory role, making it increasingly difficult and less efficient for the County and your administration to leave a strong environmental legacy and a resilient Miami-Dade. We cannot find any examples of major counties or cities where the environmental regulatory department does not have the authority to implement its regulations through permitting.”
Furthermore, the environmentalists stated, the fear is not that DERM would be necessarily diminished now, but later.
“The fundamental question in this decision is not about the current team or your administration, but rather about looking to the decades ahead, when the leadership of both DERM, RER, and the Mayor’s Office is yet to be determined,” the letter to La Alcaldesa reads. “Removing the statutory authority from DERM makes it easier for a future administration or the Commission to gut it entirely. This is exactly why efforts to weaken DERM’s permitting authority have surfaced time and again, attempting to make way for improper development at the expense of critical resources and natural infrastructure like pine rocklands, wetlands, mangroves, seagrass, and more.
“This proposal is inconsistent with the leadership we have long relied upon from you as our environmental champion. We fully agree that DERM’s efficiency and internal operations can and should be improved, and we fully support measures that strengthen its performance, speed and transparency. However, these measures can be taken while keeping DERM’s authority intact.”
Levine Cava wrote back and said her administration “is committed to leaving a legacy of protections to safeguard our ecosystems and natural resources now and long into the future.” She also said that this had been announced earlier this year and that the county’s chief resiliency officer would lead the new independent department.
“This move enhances our overall environmental and resilience planning and coordination under centralized leadership, while also streamlining County functions to improve key services and make government more efficient,” the mayor wrote. “As part of this transition, we are committed to ensuring we maintain the integrity of environmental permitting processes, while still streamlining and seeking efficiencies to help more small businesses to thrive and save taxpayer money.”
She said she understood the concerns but would remain “steadfast in my commitment to ensuring that a robust environmental permitting process remains in place.
“Our resilience goals remain a key focus for my administration and I am committed to continuing to elevate environmental protection across the County, as we empower staff and better align the work across all departments to deliver on resilience priorities. A more focused, visible DERM will support these efforts while we align and streamline permitting countywide.”
In a statement provided to Political Cortadito by her office, the mayor said this was consistent with her vision.

“As a stand-alone, mission-focused department, DERM will play an even more essential role in safeguarding our environment, including monitoring, enforcement, policy development, and more,” Levine Cava said. “As part of this transition, environmental permitting will become part of our one-stop permitting shop under RER – as we continue our efforts to streamline permitting countywide, to improve customer service by making application processing more efficient.

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